NEW Corrie star Les Dennis won’t forget the last time he played at Glasgow’s King’s Theatre because it gave him the opportunity to work with the late great Gerard Kelly.

Les, 60, who is at the famed Scots venue to star in black comedy The Perfect Murder with Gray O’Brien and Claire Goose, reminisced: “I last came here in 1995 with Sleeping Beauty and worked with Gerard Kelly, bless him.

“He was a great loss and a lovely man. He will always be in my heart.

“It was a great job to do and he was a brilliant man. We later got to work on the Ricky Gervais show Extras as well when Gerard played camp pantomime director Ian ‘Bunny’ Bunton.

“Actually, they have a photo on the stage door here of me looking 12 and I’d forgotten how big a theatre it was.”

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Les, who is here until tomorrow, plays the role of Victor Smiley who is so fed up with his wife Joan (Claire Goose) that bumping her off seems like a good plan.

He said of the show, based on a Peter James novella: “It’s a great evening’s entertainment.

“Victor is constantly snoring and humming and his idea for a romantic meal is a two-for-one Pizza Express voucher. He gets on Joan’s nerves and thinks Joan doesn’t understand him.

“We’ve been touring for eight weeks now, and when we first opened, people weren’t sure they were allowed to laugh at the mundanity of a couple planning murder but at the same time getting on with suburban life.

“I’m outnumbered by Scots in the play with Gray O’Brien and Steven Miller, and Simona Armstrong is married to a Scot.”

For Les, who has just bagged a role in Coronation Street, the play gives him the chance to have another fling with live theatre – before immersing himself in the soap world.

He enthused: “With TV, you kind of get a chance to do it again if it is wrong but with the stage, you have to be ­absolutely word-perfect on the night.

“Things do go wrong occasionally and you have to roll with that but the immediacy of the audience is something most actors love.

“With panto, you are miked but in a play there is no microphone so I have to project as if I’m talking to the top of the gods. I do get nervous on opening night and always when you are in a new city.

“The set travels with us and it’s the same play every night but the dynamic always changes in a different theatre.

“We seem to be doing well here – Gray is keeping me informed how ­business is going here.”

Working with Gray also proved to be handy when he got the script for Corrie character Michael Rogers, who tries to burgle Gail ­McIntyre. Gray played murderous factory boss Tony Gordon in the soap for three years.

Les said: “He is great fun to work with and hilarious. There is a moment towards the end of the first act. One of the characters ends up in plastic binbags and there’s a lot of near corpsing that goes on. Gray also very helpfully played Gail for the week I spent learning the script for Corrie.”

Les with ex-comedy partner Dustin Gee in 1985

His part in the soap comes 40 years after he won ITV talent show New Faces before joining the team at Russ Abbot’s Madhouse and The Russ Abbot Show in 1982 then forming a comedy partnership with the late impressionist Dustin Gee, with whom he starred in The Laughter Show.

Following Dustin’s sudden death in January 1986, Les’s career could have hit a brick wall but he carried on The Laughter Show as a solo performer and became the third host of Family Fortunes for a 15-year run from 1987.

Winning the part on the famous cobbles was the icing on the cake for a man who for years dined out on his impression of Corrie’s Mavis Riley and her expression “I don’t really know”.

The star admits he’s sad that Dustin never got to see it. He said: “We were a strong double act. I miss him to this day.”

Despite some of other of his comic counterparts falling by the wayside after the 80s, Les kept performing.

He said: “I’ve been very lucky but you have to work really hard to be lucky in this business.

“I think it’s just because I’ve always been reinventing.

“If I stayed doing the kind of comedy I was doing in the 80s there would be not that much work to do.

“I came here with Russ Abbot in Glasgow and think we did The Pavilion and sold out three nights but those days of variety comedy are going really. It’s more the big arena stand-ups dominating now.”

That doesn’t appeal to Les. He said: “It’s a young man’s game, the comedy stuff now, and you have to reinvent with a new show each year. I prefer to be on stage with actors. I have always been about trying new things with game shows, stage musicals like Hairspray and even a stint in MasterChef last year, but stand-up isn’t for me now.”

Les Dennis is preparing for his debut in Coronation Street (Image: ITV)

Appearing in two reality shows also proved to be a winner for Les, even though he had mixed feelings about them at first.

He said: “In Big Brother, at first I didn’t think it was the best move and it seemed not to be the best move but then Ricky Gervais came calling off the back of that and what seemed like a bad decision ended up a good decision. Since Ricky, I’ve had a reinvention that has helped towards my longevity as an actor now.”

Les hopes Corrie will help to seal his reputation as an actor.

“When people come to see me, they go, ‘That’s Les Dennis’ for the first five minutes then say, which is the biggest compliment to me, that they forget it’s me as they believe the character.”

Having filmed just two Corrie episodes so far, Les is looking forward to working with everyone.

“I’m looking forward to going into the Rovers for the first time. My character starts off as a baddie and in time we’ll find out if he has a love interest or friendship with Gail.”